


The Date

by dsa_archivist



Category: due South
Genre: Challenge Response, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-09-10
Updated: 2001-09-10
Packaged: 2018-11-11 01:29:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11138508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dsa_archivist/pseuds/dsa_archivist
Summary: Written in response to a listsib's question "For the Male DS characters--what gives him an instant erection" and her answer "Welsh & his female boss?"





	The Date

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Speranza, the archivist: this story was once archived at [Due South Archive](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Due_South_Archive). To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in June 2017. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Due South Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/duesoutharchive).

  
The Date

## The Date

by Kali Sandison

Disclaimer: Harding and Sherry don't belong to me. They're property of Alliance. Oliver's is my favorite bar/restaurant. I just transported it to Chicago and Dave, the owner knows and is okay with that for the purposes of fiction only. 

Author's Notes: Marilea thought it was worth a fic but wouldn't write it. So I wrote it and she beta'd it. Thank you kindly.

Story Notes: 

* * *

Harding Welsh stood at the bar of Oliver's and tried not to appear nervous. Even though his divorce had been final for six months, and the marriage effectively over for much longer than that, he still felt he was being unfaithful to his ex-wife. He knew that the split had been as amicable as possible for such things, and that Janice would never consider him a traitor for going out on a date now but that's how he saw himself. 

He took a long pull from his bottle of Budweiser and wondered what had possessed him to ask Sherry O'Neill out for dinner. She was his commanding officer and although there were no written rules against fraternization, he knew that no good could come of pursuing any kind of relationship outside the office. However, she'd agreed to this dinner and she was just as aware of the unwritten rules as he was. She wouldn't have gotten to the position of Commander if she wasn't. 

He looked around nervously and tried to think of a graceful way out. He couldn't claim he'd gotten caught at work since she knew the precinct's caseloads as well as he did. 'Family emergency' came to mind but he couldn't manufacture a realistic one and lying didn't come easily to him anyway. It was the waiting that was killing him. Why had he arrived so early? He'd told himself that he wanted to get a beer under his belt before dinner to relax but now he realized that this wasn't the best plan. It simply gave him more time to stew. He took a deep breath, swallowed some more beer and tried to calm down. 

The lieutenant looked around and took in the surroundings. He'd chosen this restaurant specifically because it was nice but still casual. He was dressed similarly to the other patrons in a sport shirt and khakis. His choice of beer was unremarkable, but still he felt that he stood out in some way like a sore thumb. Another deep breath, another drink of beer and his nerves began to settle a bit. 

He glanced at the television and watched the White Sox game. They were ahead but just by one run. Taking another drink, he began to get caught up in the game. The Tigers were at bat and the Sox's pitcher seemed to be losing his arm. Harding wondered how long it would be before the coach realized this and put in a relief pitcher. 

A light touch on his shoulder returned his attention to the bar. Managing not to spill his beer, he turned around and saw Sherry standing next to him. 

"Sorry I'm late," she said. "I, uh, had a family thing come up and..." She let the sentence die weakly. 

"Yeah, I know how those things happen," he said with an easy grin, suddenly feeling better. "Let's go tell the hostess that we need a table." 

Sherry turned to walk back to the front door and Harding watched her. It dawned on him that he'd never seen her other than in uniform or in a dark, professional suit. Today she wore a denim skirt and pale pink blouse. Her legs were bare and she'd slipped her feet into flat strappy sandals. Then he noticed that her toenails were painted a bright bubble gum pink. 

He stood to follow her and then realized that the front of his pants had become very snug. "Oh dear," he said. 

* * *

End The Date by Kali Sandison:

Author and story notes above.


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